Waiting Out the Storm
by PrinRue
Summary: Hiccup and Astrid have both had some bad experiences with lighting. When a bad storm hits the Edge, they must rely on each other to get through it. Hiccstrid fluff. RTTE, post Blindsided


**Hello friends! In preparation for Valentine's day, I have a couple romance centered fics lined up for you all! This one isn't the biggest one, that'll come closer to the actual holiday, but it's an appetizer, so to speak. **

**I feel like after the events of "When Lightning Strikes", Hiccup and Toothless would probably be pretty wary of thunderstorms, and their fear of them would only grow what with all the times they've nearly been struck while flying in later episodes. Then following the events of "Blindsided", despite her fearless nature, Astrid would be feeling some fear as well. So, what better thing to do than make them rely on each other to get through a bad storm? **

**Enjoy!**

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There was a reason she was called "Fearless Astrid Hofferson". Her entire life, there was no enemy she didn't face with bravery, no fight she backed down from. When Astrid was confronted, she always faced her challenger with determined eyes.

Of course, that didn't mean she'd never been scared before. Her accident-magnet of a boyfriend had a way of making her heart race and emotions flow. But even then, she never had an actual _fear _of something before.

Which was why when she found herself cowering every time thunder boomed and lightning flashed, she felt like something had gone terribly wrong. No, Astrid couldn't be _afraid _of the storm; she'd _never _been afraid of storms. Yet the next time a bolt of white-hot electricity struck particularly close, she curled into herself even more, chills running down her spine.

What was wrong with her? Why was she suddenly so… _terrified_ of a common thunderstorm? The Edge had several storms a month; why did it feel so different now?

Another bright flash illuminated the hut, leaving Astrid's vision temporarily dark. And then it hit her.

Was she so scared because of what had happened a couple of weeks ago?

She didn't think her bout of temporary blindness had any effect on her. After all, it all turned out okay in the end, and she finally got to express her true feelings for Hiccup once it was over. She would've thought that would make it a _positive _experience, even.

But apparently, her accident had more of an impact on her than she previously thought.

Another flash struck a nearby tree, sending bits of bark and leaves raining on Astrid's hut. Images of the burning stables flashed in her mind, and she couldn't stay still any longer. Fight or flight kicked in, and the girl leapt to her feet, bolting out of her house and into Thor's wrath. She didn't care if she looked weak; she needed the presence of another person. And there was only one person she wanted by her side right now.

Astrid brought a fist to Hiccup's door, hoping he wasn't in too deep of a sleep to hear her. But to her surprise, the door opened almost immediately.

A brief look of surprise crossed the teen's face when he saw his girlfriend standing there, soaking wet and eyes shining with fear, but he quickly ushered her inside.

Astrid was shocked to see the room brightly lit as a fire roared in the hearth, and the floor littered with parchment and designs for projects. Toothless was laying by the fire, rather than upstairs on his stone bed, and based on the amount of charcoal shavings on the floor, Hiccup had clearly been awake all night.

"So, uh, what brings you here at this time of night?" Hiccup finally asked. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Astrid retorted, gesturing to the various papers on the floor.

"What? Oh, I- I just… didn't feel like sleeping... today…" he trailed off, realizing how unconvincing he sounded.

"Hiccup, you are the worst liar in all of Vikingkind. Why are you really awake?"

He let out a defeated sigh. "Fine. The truth is… I just, uh, don't really like thunderstorms. Especially when there's lightning. It always scares me awake, so for the last year or so, I've just been staying up when there's bad weather."

Of course that was it; Astrid felt stupid for not thinking of that. Hiccup (and Toothless) had not had the best experiences when it came to lightning. Not only had Hiccup been struck by it before, but it had also crashed him and Toothless out of the sky several times. Of course he would be afraid whenever a storm passed through. Astrid looked them over, noticing that Toothless wasn't even wearing his saddle and tailfin at the moment.

"I gave you my reason, now why don't you return the favor?" Hiccup asked her, sitting back down by his dragon, snapping Astrid out of her thoughts.

"What? Oh. I…" Astrid paused, trying to think of what to say. She didn't want to admit she was scared; what would Hiccup think of her if she did? She wasn't supposed to get scared of anything, and that was one of the things Hiccup had admired so much about her. She couldn't let him know just how weak she felt.

"It's the storm, isn't it?"

Something in Astrid broke. She felt as though her veins had turned to ice, and her knees had melted into gelatin. Her throat closed up and she couldn't find her voice, but she didn't even need to speak; the broken expression on her face said it all.

And all Hiccup did was hold out a hand. That simple gesture, no words attached, almost brought the girl to tears. She collapsed against him, not even caring that she was shaking, just that she could feel his warmth against her, and know that _it's okay, it's safe, you're alright. _

"Hiccup… what's wrong with me?" Astrid asked, her words dripping with emotion.

"Nothing is wrong with you, Astrid," he answered, brushing his fingers through her hair in a way that soothed every nerve in her body. "It's, well, it's only natural, really. To be afraid after an experience like that."

"But that's just it. I _don't _get scared. Sure, I'll be frightened in the heat of the moment, but this… never before have I felt so, so _terrified _of something that I hadn't even given a second thought to before."

"It's okay, Astrid." Gently, Hiccup guided her into a sitting position, letting her lean against him and Toothless. "I understand. Really, I do." Toothless grumbled up at him, and he patted the dragon's head. "We both do."

"How do you manage? How do you always carry on, and stay so calm?"

"In truth, I really don't," Hiccup said, laughing nervously. "Every time we have to fly through a storm, I have to hold on to Toothless' saddle just to keep my hands from shaking. It's been 3 years, Astrid, since I was hit. But I still get scared. _Toothless _still gets scared. If we don't have to go anywhere, he won't even wear his saddle when there's lightning." Beside them, the Night Fury let out a mournful sound, not even attempting to deny the accusation of being afraid. "But you want to know how I get through it?" Hiccup took one of Astrid's hands in his. "With the help of those who love me. Toothless never leaves my side, and if you need it, you _know _I'll never leave yours."

"I do. I do need you," Astrid whispered, curling into her boyfriend's side. "Hiccup, I… I felt like my life was over. There's no way I can tell you just how… helpless I felt, hiding while you and our dragons fought. I thought that if I couldn't see, if blindness was the rest of my life… I'd be _useless. _And I… I didn't know if the rest of you guys would even want me around…"

"Why would you ever think that?" Hiccup asked, his voice sounding almost hurt. "Astrid, I don't know what I would do if I didn't have you. You were the first person to believe in me when no one else did, and I wouldn't be who I am today if you hadn't let me take you on that flight. When I was cast out… all I wanted was to give up. I thought it was over. Toothless was gone, and once he was used to get to the Nest, he would be killed. I had no place in the village, no father, no future to look toward. But _you_ brought me back. If you hadn't given me a chance… I don't know where I'd be. I meant what I told you; I can't imagine a world without you in it." He closed his eyes, laying his head against hers.

Another bolt of lightning flashed outside, and while the girl's nerves still turned to ice, and the boy's muscles tensed, neither one of them felt as afraid.

"I never got a chance to tell you, Hiccup…" Astrid started. "I really appreciated what you said that day. How you'll be there for me no matter what… I needed to hear that. I mean, I guess I already knew it, but… feeling so vulnerable, I suppose I kind of forgot for a bit."

"It's okay. There's no way I could ever know what you went through. For someone as strong as you, it must've felt like your world was falling apart…"

"Was that how you felt too? When you were hit?"

"Me? Well, I was unconscious for most of it, so no. But Toothless…" Hiccup reached out an arm to rub said dragon's head. "Apparently he was beside himself. To him, it was like the Red Death all over again- well, minus the whole missing limb thing, thank Thor," he joked, getting a soft laugh out of Astrid.

The pair was silent for a minute, the only sound being the ambient crackling of the fire and occasional rumbles of thunder. Yet they hardly even noticed the storm anymore.

Finally, Astrid broke their comfortable silence. "Thank you. I needed this."

"You'd have done the same for me."

"I know, but… I'm not usually the one needing the reassurance around here-"

"Gee, thanks, Miss Perfect," Hiccup interjected dryly.

"You know what I meant!" Astrid scolded him, though neither were truly upset.

"Yeah. I do."

"But I'm serious, Hiccup. I don't know what I would've done if I didn't come here tonight. Thank you."

"Of course. It's just what we do."

Astrid paused, giving them another moment of silence before speaking. "You were right, you know."

"What about?"

The girl smiled, lifting her head to look her boyfriend in the eye. She took in every detail, every color in his irises, every imperfection on his skin. "There will always be a Hiccup and Astrid." She moved forward until their lips met, both in turn letting their eyes close as they took in each others presence.

When they pulled apart, hearts fluttering and smiles seemingly stuck on their faces, Hiccup finished Astrid's statement in a near whisper.

"Always."

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**I just have to say, I absolutely LOVE the speech Hiccup gives Astrid in Blindsided. It's cheesy, yeah, but just so sweet and genuine and wonderful...**

**Now, I'm not typically a romance writer, so I'd love to know how I did with their relationship! **

**Hope you enjoyed! Till next story!**


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